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About the CloudSat Data Processing Center

Welcome to the CloudSat Data Processing Center! The DPC is run by the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA), a research institute at Colorado State University. CloudSat is a polar orbiting satellite that takes measurments of cloud reflectivity with a 94 GHz cloud radar.

CloudSat orbits the Earth approximately once every 1 1/2 hours. During its orbit, it passes over ground stations belonging to the Air Force Satellite Control Network (AFSCN) where the data are downloaded on each overpass. The data are then be sent to Albuquerque, New Mexico where data quality checks are performed. Then the data are transmitted via the internet to the DPC in Fort Collins, Colorado where it is sent through the data processing system to create a number of science data products.